Coupler



w. F. RICHARDS July 25, 1933.

CCUPLER Filed April 26, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 y 1933- w. F. RICHARDS 1,919,305

COUPLER Filed April 26, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet Patented July 25, 1933 UNITED STATES COMPANY, or NEW Yon x nq Y., conrone'rionor ARYLeNn WILLARD F. RICHARD-S, or DEPEW,-1\IEW YORK, AssIGnoR 6150 THE eontn ooiirnn'n V onna};

Application filed him '26,

This invention relates'tocouplers and,

more particularly, to 'acoupler'of the same general character as that disclosed in my application, Serial Number 107,150, liledMay 6, 1926, now Patent No. 1,789,659, dated Januar 20,1931. I I

'lhe principal object of my invention, gen erally considered, is. the provision of'a car coupler with a bottom-operated look, there'- by particularly adapting the same fojr'pas- An object of my invention is the'provisi on ofca ear coupler partlcularly adapted for passengerservrce and formed with-locking ineans'coinprising a locking and guide block formed as a unitary part inasmuch as a passenger coupler does not requlre a. lock set.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a car coupler 111 which the locking means therefor is pivoted on an extension from a lock lifter received through anapen' ture 11111116 lower wall of the head thereof,

the front end of said extension being pref erably flush with the front face of the locking means and retained in place by a device such as a cotter, the pro ect1ng ends of whlch' come apparent as the description proceeds.

Referring to the drawings illustrating my invention, the 'scop whereof 1s defined/by the appended claims:

Figure 1 is a plan view ofa coupler, em-' bedying' my invention," shown partially in horizontal section for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the locking block.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line 22 of Figure 1 looking 1n i'llQClliECtlQll of the arrows.

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional vlew on; he line 33 of Figure 2 looking in the-"direction of the arrows. p g l Figure 4 1s 'a partial end elevationand partial transverse 'SGCtlOI] al View on the line ,44 of Figure 3 loolring in ithe directionlof the arrows. I a a Referring to the drawings in detailylike 119.27 scrim no. 186,781,

parts being designated by :like reference" characters, there is shown-a coupler 1 which is particularly adapted for passenger-service in that itfhasa bottom-operated lock 2 vertically novabl'e in ahead 3. Said he-adis provided. with knuckle l l 's'winginglymounted with respect thereto by in'ealnsrof'a preferably headless pinv 5 passing through a vertical aperture 6 in the knuckle 4' and corresponding registering apertures Tinrthe or ear ofthehead. v The knuckle it is, as" usual, provided with a taillO rece-ived, when in locked positioinin a pocket in the head p I 05 y c embodiment, comprises the locking block which maybe considered as The locking niechanisin'for the knuckle l, 1n the present a combination locking; block and guide block n that it has aguide flange or rib l l norn al- 1y rece ved behind a correspondingflange or Q v rib 12projecting fr'ointhe knucl zlejside of the Y flnner iacefof the head ill-"flfOlltOfthQ rib 11, thereby providing a groo-veor pocket 13, a

between the rib. 12 and therear wall" of the coupler head, receiving said'rib 11: The

with the inner face ofthe guard arm wall ll and the reauwall. or flanged!) Qfflth head 3. I I I I v lhe locking block '2 isinovahlel upwardly and downwardly by means of a lock lifter 16':

guard arm of the locking block 2is inerely gulded at its side and rear by engagement passing through an aperture17 in the'jlower wall or fioor 18 of the head-3 and received I in corresponding groove or po c'k'et lgl in the rear face of the lockingblocl; 2." At the upper end of the lock lifter 16, a preferably:

tapered projection: Y2O is provided exten ding' I forwardly and normally received'in a cOrre-m sponding aperture 21 in the locking block' uli for the pivotal mounting of the latterlonsaid lock lifter 16. I The "front end of the extension 20 is preferably"substantially fiushwith'fthe front face ofthe locking block 2janddisen gagement' between the'same" is preferably;

prevented by-retainingrneans such asa cotter I 22 inserted through a corresponding Vaper I ture near the front end 'ofsaid extension czQ with the ends the eof received in correspond-- 60 7 upper pivot leg or car 8 and lower pivot lug} J ing apertures in adjacent portions of the head '3', whereby said openeris pivotally mounted with respect thereto. It will be'apparent that said opener 24 is advantageously mounted .111 the head by positioning the same and then inserting the pivot pin 26 before theknuckle 4 is pivotally mounted with respect to thehead. In the prcsenten ibodi-j ment, it will be apparent that, after insertion of the pin 26 in place. and connection of the I knuckle 4: to the. head, said pin will be retained in position and prevented from loss by engagement with said knuckle. Said opener 24 is preferably in the form of a modified bell crank lever with an arm 27 projecting over the locking block 2 and engaging a notched portion 28 in the top face thereof upon said locking block being raised to unlockingandknuckle opening positions. The

other arm 29 of the knuckle opener 24 is pref.- -e'ra-bly angular, as illustrated, with the lower endthereof positioned outwardly of the tail' 10 of the knucklell and, when'the knuckle is in locked position, received in a corresponding pocket 30 in the knuckle side of the head 3.

Inasmuch as the particular embodiment of my invention illustrated is especially'adapted for passenger service where the pivot pin for the knucklev has to be inserted and withdrawn and corresponding registering apertures 32 from the bottom of the coupler on account ofithe .pro ecti'on of the passenger buffer which prevents taking the pin from the top, said 1p1n1s preferably of the headless type.

and the t'opthcrecf is normally approxir'iate- 1y flush with the top of the pivot lug orear S. The bottom of said pin is preferably provided with a transverse aperture 31"throughwhich incthelower pivot lug S) of the head, retaining means :33 is inserted, said means desirably taking the form of a split key, as illustrated.

Said key may be inserted through the for ward aperture 32 and, when in place, the ends 34 thereof may .be expanded into a corresponding pocket 35 in the lower pivot lug 9 of the coupleiy whereby all-danger of lossv thereof-is prevented. p r r For operating "the lock lifter 16, a bell cra'nkle'ver 36 is provided, desirably mounted between pivot lugs Won the head by means of .'a pivot pin 38 extending through said lugs andan intermediate portion of said lever The'pin 38-is desirably prevented from loss by 'ineans of ahead 39 at one end anda cotter 40 extending throught-he opposite end thereof.

Said lock lifter 16, at its lower end, extends between bifurcated portions 41 of the lever by the notched portion 28 of tl 36 and is pivotally connected thereto as by means of a rivet 42 extending through corresponding apertures in the associated ends of the lock lifter 16 and bell crank lever 36. I For protecting the lower end of the lock lifter- 16 and the cooperating end of the ,bell crank lever 36, a shield 413 is desirably provided extending downwardly as an integral projection from the bottom of the coupler head and desirably formed as a transverse web portion tt reinforced and braced with respect to the lower wall 18 of the head by means of a longitudinal web or gusset portion 15. I The oppositeend of the lever 36 is adapted for actuation in any desired manner as by connection with a pull-rod lti will be understood.

The operation of the embodiment of my invention illustratedis as follows. The drawi 'ngs showthe coupler with the knuckle held cated at 47, whereby creeping thereof is p'ievented in awell known manner. Upon pulling the rod 46, the lower end of the bell crank. lever 36 is raised which, in turn,'raises the lock lifter 1610 which it is pivotally connected. 'Upon raising the locking bl ck 2 sufficiently, not only is thetail of the knuckle 4 released, but the knuckle opener is engaged 1e locking block kicker portion or lower end thereof and the engages and pushes the-tail ofthe knuckle sideways an d outwardly to openthe same.

. From the foregoing disclosure,-it will be apparent that I havedevised a car coupler espec ally adapted for "though, as is obvious,it is not limited to such use. The lock and guide,being of one piece,

passenger service alare preferably placed in the head by insertion through the frontopening thereof and provision is made to hold them back in place or, in

other words, prevent for vard displacement.

The lock lifter, passingthrough the bottom of the coupler, has an extension on its forward portion on which the lock is positioned and'the cotter, at the front hereof. holds the lock in its proper place and prevents forward dislodgement. it

Thepivot pin for connecting theknuckle and head is adaptedfor withdrawal from the bottom of the coupler when it is desired to replace the knuckle because of'the projection of the passenger bulijer which prevents takin the knucklepin from the top. To retainthis headless knuckle pin in place, a fornrofsplit key is employed which is conveniently inserted and efiicieiitly locks the pin iii-position,

whereby, not only'is the pin protected from loss, but rotation n the coupler lugs is me vented and wearing, of the holes in the lugs and consequent decrease in the life of the coupler is-obviated. i

It is very desirabletliat a passenger coupler iso can be operated from the side by a pull rod and provision has been made for operating the present form of coupler by using a straight rod 46 without any offsets either laterally or vertically. Then using this'form of coupler, the bending of such pull rods is avoided to clear safety chains as the lock lift er is far enough rearward so that the straight rod Wlll give ample clearance with respect to such chains. Except, specifically described, the present form of coupler may correspond substantially with the form of conpler described in my application, Serial Numbcr 107,150, filed May 6, 1926, now Patent No. 1,789,659, dated January 20, 1931, and. relating to a form of coupler particularlv adapted for freight service, except, of'course, the upper wall of the head, above the locking device, need not be provided with an aperture for re ceiving operating means. It will be also ap- Pl'BCliLtQCl that the notched portion. 28 .onthe front of the combined locking and guide block functions in a manner similar to that performed by the corresponding notch on the locking block of my referred to application and economizes space, thus makin it possible to decrease the height of the head. 1 Having now described my invention, I claim:

1. In combination, a coupler head, a

knuckle pivotally mounted thereon, a locking device for said knuckle comprising a block guided forvertical movement in said head,

a lock lifter extending through an aperturein the lower wall of said head and formed with a pivot at its upper end, sa d pivot being receivable in a corresponding aperture in the locking device for pivotally mounting the 7 same wlth respect tosaid lifter, and retain ing means connected to the front end of said pivot and projecting to either side thereof.

front end of said projection being substan-.

tially flush with the front face of said block and cotter means inserted throughsaid front end with projecting ends receivable in pockets in the front face of saidblock.

3. In combination, a coupler head, a swinging knuckle, a locking block for said knuckle, means for actuating said block comprising a lifterpassing through the bottom wall of the head and provided with a pivot extending longitudinally of the head'for pivoting the lifter to said block, a bell crank lever pivotally mounted'at the side of said head with one arm pivotally connected to the lower end of the lifter and'theother connected to a pull rod for theoperation thereof.

4;. Inicombinatioma coupler head, a swinging knuckle, a locking device for said knuckle, said device being provided with a pocket in the rear face thereof for receiving a lifter and an aperture extending forwardly therefrom for} receiving pivotal means thereon, and a lifter with a plvotal extension, the

axis of which is longitudinal,snugly received in saidaPerture, whereby pivotal movement I i is permitted between thejlocking device and lifter in lateral direction only.

"5. In" combination, a coupler head, a

knuckle pivoted"thereto,a lock mounted for vertical movementin said head, a knuckle opener pivoted to swing in the bead about a generally longitudinal V axis and provided with an arm actuated by the lockupon upward movement, a lifter extending through the bottom of said head andprovided with a longitu-. dinally extending pivot portion normally received in a corresponding aperture in said lock whereby said lifter is adapted to angle laterally of th e head, a bell crank lever pivotally mounted at a side of the head andprovided with an armeiztending beneath said head and pivotally connected to the lower;-

end of the lifter, and a pullrod connected to the other arm of said lever for the actuation-thereof. l 5

6. In combination, a coupler head," a

knuckle pivoted thereto,a lock guided in said f head for normally vertical. movement, a knuckle iopener with an arm normally overlying a portion of sai d lock for operation upon upward-movement of the latter, and another through the bottom of said'head, and abellcrank lever pivotally mounted at a side of ofssaid lifter being provided with a pivot por tionextending longitudinally of the head' for pivotal connection with the lock toallovv for theflnecessary angling oftheliffter, "as it is moved by the bell crank lever, without causingthe-lock to bind in the guiding por tion of the head.. I

: LAR R CHAR S] arm depending to the side of the knuckle tail, means extending longitudinally of. the head p for pivotally mounting said opener above the: normal position of the lock to adapt said de- I pending arm for lateral swinging to effect ac tuationl of the knuckle, a lifter. extending said head and provided Withanarm eXtend I ing beneath said head and pivotally connect- 'ed to the lower end of the lifter,the upper end 

